At night, black panthers weave through thick overgrowth,undetected, as birds quieten their hungry young and sleepBut even in the rich darkness of the dense forestmicro flashes of silken pink and yellow cream can be seencatching the moon's light, glowing like precious gems

By day these colours dim in their translucent chambersatop the world's most beautiful, fearless caterpillar

This tiny being boldly ventures from one leaf to anotherwhile all others cower underneathIts crystal spikes hide only soft, sticky gooand it is no bigger than a fingernail

But don't be fooled by its size and raw beauty,this bejeweled crown easily summons its strengthto move faster than the angry west winds

Its beauty comes not only from its formbut in its lion-hearted spirit and grace

This confident caterpillar lives and surrenders to changewithout the leaden shackles of fear and worry

Voyaging forth sacred mission afloat,serenading affection from the cords of clear throats. But the voices of pilgrims pure,often drown in the wake of the sorcerers lure.Are not faint yet seem lost in the noise.Thwarted by Royals wielding tempting ploys.Left stood are the sturdy few,clever spells are no match for their fortitude.

Today I say "I Do." Today, I commit to loving someone that I could only dream of. Today, I realize that I will have to work,Work to love her like she deserves.She deserves forgiveness, kindness, patience.

Today I will create a love that is impenetrable--No one will be able to erode the strength,self-confidence,and resilience.

When people have done you wrongAnd stolen your ability to loveDo not fight fire with lavaJust look at the skies aboveDo not reflect the chaos of the ocean And let it be cloudy and darkEven when pain runs centuries deepThey have not stolen your true heartYour pain does not define youNor should it have controlBecause love is limitless and plentifulNo matter how young or oldDo not let pain shape your armor Or help build your wallsFor a rock is already known forBeing solid and strongBut what is more amazingIs a heart that’s been through it allA love so resilient in something so fragileThat answers every time it is called

When people tell meThat I'm strongI'm beautifulI'm amazing...I don't feel anything.Tell me these thingsWhen I cry about the painThat has lasted me years,When I'm up at nightEven when I'm lacking sleep,AndWhen I'm expected to smileMy whole life when I don't feel your warmth.

This ice palace I reside in,Is it my lifeline?Because if it isWouldn't it be better ifIt melted?

All these momentsHave become entangledAnd the momentary lapsesIrregular,My world allGreyAndI just can't do this.

I keep forgetting that I am me.That I am ‘Kiara’,Smart and immature and competitive and deeply flawed and conceited and shallow.With no actual purpose.A being meant to only convey emotions ‘I’ would.I keep forgetting that I can’t be reckless,I keep forgetting that I can’t be brave.That I can’t just one day decide to snap and break no matter how much I want to, So I sink.

I think of it as a dream, one I cannot escape, And do not want to escape at the same time.Pinching myself doesn’t make it any less of a dream,But I keep doing it to comfort myself.I keep forgetting that I am supposed to be me.

Sometimes, when my mind gets lost in the storm, And the thoughtless sails have broken off, I sit motionless, waiting for the next command, except I am wearing the captain’s clothes, Yet I command no one.As if my body, my being is no act of resilience, instead, a vessel I am not allowed to control.

You are like a cool gentle breeze in the treeswhistling your sweet tuneand dancing your fingers throughmy hairlike a silver stream of moonlighton patches of silky worn grassmy feet run across to get to your outreachedarms of pale morning sunlightthat make the sky blush into cool shadesof rose, jade, lilac,and peach your laugh gushes like a waterfall blue and whitespraying across the rocks and evergreen I cometo perch on when all inspiration for ideashave dried into strips of sour plums and I am left feelinga crazed thirst for the energy drained awayyou are as light as a Cloudwhite, often times stainedsunset pink and orange so filling yet so translucentin that my ideas pass right through you and become forever lostlike airplanes with blinking lightsand no destinations flying across your endless horizon of thoughtful evening starsevery time I close my eyes and breathe you are there fluttering underneathmy eyelidssmoothing my creased foreheadpulling my mouth up into an upturned crescent moonplacing your palmsagainst minejust to let me know you are therethough only a fragment of my imagination you are simply the stillness in every momentencapturing a person's presenceto be carried in the winds of change yet brought back time and againwhen hope has stilledand home seems like a desertthat you bringrain to.